June 14, 2023 (New York, NY) – The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) held its Global Music Publishing Summit yesterday (June 13) at the 3 West Club in New York City. Highlights include a keynote from the iconic rapper and producer Doug E. Fresh and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter, a legislative update from the leaders of the NMPA and RIAA, and panels on AI, queer trends in sync, the global success of independent publishers, and much more.
Hi-res versions of all the images below can be downloaded via Dropbox. Please credit Gary Gershoff.
AIMP National Chair and New York Chapter President Michael Lau, former Nashville Chapter President John Ozier, Los Angeles Chapter President Marc Caruso, and Atlanta Chapter President Tony D. Alexander kicked off the event with an update on their Chapters and the national organization.
In addition, AIMP Leadership announced their stance on AI as part of the Human Artistry Campaign: “As publishers and songwriters, we are concerned about ensuring the value of the human voice, the human heart and emotion, and that any technology is used as a positive tool for ideation and not to attempt to replicate or replace that which a human songwriter is instrumental in creating. The AIMP stands with our industry counterparts in supporting the Human Artistry Campaign, a coalition of voices dedicated to keeping humans at the center of musical expression and artistry. We encourage all of you to join us and lend your support to this coalition so that as technology advances, we can ensure the future of the human creator.”
The first official panel of the day was “View from the Top: Indie Perspective,” which featured an in-depth discussion between Marc Caruso (Angry Mob Music Group), Frank Handy (Position Music), Katie Fagan (Prescription Songs Nashville), Michael Prommer (Defend Music Inc.), and Jennifer Mitchell (Red Brick Songs). During this panel, they touched on topics such as how independent publishers grow their catalogs, what success looks like for indies and the road they have to travel to accomplish it, private investment and capital raising, data impacts, TikTok, Canadian vs U.S. grants, A&R teams working with sync teams, the impact of the WGA writers’ strike, accurate tagging, and more.
Next up was the panel “Independent Publishers: A Global Success,” which brought together Teri Nelson Carpenter (Reel Muzik Werks), Annette Barrett (Reservoir/IMPF), Pierre Mossiat (Strictly Confidential/IMPF), and Sarah Williams (IMPEL). In this conversation, the panelists discussed global and regional frames of mind for independent publishers, the work IMPF and IMPEL are accomplishing, the market share of indies both in the U.S. and globally, the importance of knowing what is going on and who is bringing that information, a 10-year scope of the IMPF, and a surprise appearance by Emmanuel Legrand to talk about a study on international indies.
The first sponsored panel of the day was “SX Works – Global Publisher Services 101,” featuring a conversation with Paul Gillis and Veronica Syrtash from SX Works. During this panel, they discussed the services that SX Works Global Publisher Services provide and how they work, their goal of providing accurate metadata ensuring that musical works can be accurately licensed and paid for their usage, how they work within the SoundExchange and CMRRA family, and more.
This was followed by “Publishing Takes on AI: How to Prepare for the Augmented Future” featuring Adrian Perry (Covington & Burling LLP), Shannon Sorenson (NMPA), Michael Lau (AIMP), Camus Celli (Truideation), and moderator Vickie Nauman (CrossBorderWorks). This panel touched on important topics such as the speed at which AI has developed and the impact on songwriters, what is protected under copyright for AI developed works, the importance of transparency, the difference between generative and general AI, how labels and publishers are using AI, neighbouring rights, current and future legislation, and more.
After lunch, guests attended the “Unite & Conquer” panel moderated by Kevin Casini (RME) with panelists Dr. Richard James Burgess (A2IM), Helienne Lindvall (ECSA), and Abby North (North Music Group LLC.). During this conversation, they discussed songwriters suffering in the streaming space because of minimal income, the importance of making sure artists are paid for public performances in the U.S., advocacy vs. education, metadata requirements, the impact of aggregators on the overall music market, and more.
The next sponsored panel of the day was “ICE: Multi-Territory Royalty Flows & New Opportunities,” which was moderated by Rob Levine (Billboard) and featured panelists Tim Rawlinson and Alex Tarrand (STYNGR). In this conversation, panelists discussed the importance of ensuring songwriters are paid accurately internationally, ICE’s different licensing models that fit the needs of any business size, the importance of competition within this space, the ways the gaming industry is embracing AI, how ICE gets their data and utilize it, licensing models we need to adopt in gaming, and more.
In the next panel, “DC Update,” attendees heard from the leaders of major organizations that represent the creative community in our nation’s capital. Michael Lau (AIMP) moderated a conversation between Amelia Binder (NMPA) and Morna Willens (RIAA). This conversation included important topics such as the U.S. Judiciary and work on Capitol Hill, advocacy, the Human Artistry Campaign, training of AI, copyright law’s ability to protect rights holders, the White House’s response to AI, the efficiency of the CRB, the potential TikTok ban and the impacts it will have on music, the different bills going through Congress, the anniversary of the Music Modernization Act (MMA) and oversight, the music industry’s friends on the Hill, and more.
The last sponsored panel of the day was “Exploration – Need to Know: Publishing Copyright in the Next Decade,” which included a moderated conversation by Alexander Baynum (Exploration Group) and featured panelists Michelle Bayer (Shelly Bay Publishing), Michelle Lewis (Songwriter, SONA), and Rene Meredith (Exploration Group). This conversation included topics such as what the next decade looks like for our industry, how we should not hyperfocus on AI and be aware of every potential change on the horizon, the importance of fellowship between publishers and songwriters, embracing tools that are empowering and educating artists, advocating for a new definition of black box money, looking at people as more than competitors, the importance of staying on top of your metadata, and more.
Next on the docket was “LGBTQIA+ | Queer Trends in Sync & Beyond,” which was introduced by Tony Morrison (GLAAD) and moderated by Jessica Vaughn (Head Bitch Music/Venice Music) featuring panelists Molly Salas (Halo Music & Sound), Brooke Primont (Concord Music Publishing), Allison Russell (Concord Music Publishing songwriter/Fantasy Records recording artist), YSA (artist/Nashville Equal Access), and Rachel Jacobson (Because Music). In this panel, the speakers discussed important topics such as controversy within brands using and participating in Pride, how the “ask” for LGBTQIA+ artists occurs and how they’re asked, needing to think with a moral compass rather than monetarily, advocacy and fighting for equality and fairness, securing the bag while keeping artists’ excitement, genres that apply to the queer community, metadata tags, moving beyond Pride Month and recognizing LGBTQIA+ artists all year in the industry, active vs. passive curating of music, queerbaiting vs. allyship, key action items to help the community, and more.
The Summit wrapped with a “Creative Keynote” celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with an intro from Rocky Bucano, the Executive Director of the Universal Hip Hop Museum, and followed by a discussion moderated by Rosie Lopez (Co-Founder and CEO, Opus Music Group) featuring the iconic rapper and producer Doug E. Fresh and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee David Porter, a legendary Stax Records songwriter/producer and CEO & Co-Founder of Made in Memphis Entertainment (MIME). The conversation touched on how hip-hop was born through adversity, their experiences growing up in New York and Memphis, the importance of owning your creation, their respective independent publishing companies, how people gravitate towards authentic and honest music, their success within their careers, what is next for them and their companies, and more.
The AIMP Global Music Publishing Summit was sponsored by ICE, IMPF, Music Publishers Canada, SoundExchange, rightsholder.io, Spotify, YouTube, and Exploration along with annual sponsors City National Bank, ASCAP, BMI and SESAC/Rumblefish/HFA. Video recordings of each panel will also be available shortly at aimp.org for AIMP members only. More information regarding next year’s event will be announced soon.
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About AIMP
The Association of Independent Music Publishers (AIMP) was formed in 1977 and has local chapters in Los Angeles, New York, and Nashville; with an Atlanta chapter to be established by January 2023. The organization’s primary focus is to educate and inform music publishers about the most current industry trends and practices by providing a forum for the discussion of the issues and problems confronting the music publishing industry. The opportunity to exchange ideas and opinions with others on issues of mutual concern is fostered by the atmosphere at the AIMP’s monthly meetings, forums, and workshops, the videos of which can be seen (along with more general info on the organization) at www.aimp.org.